Disregard
by Didine34790
Summary: Different take on 4x01. Callie disregards her safety and goes to look for Marianna. AU, Nick did stay on school grounds.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Disregard

 **Rating:** T

 **Summary:** Different take on 4x01. Callie disregards her safety and goes to look for Marianna. AU, Nick did stay on school grounds.

 **Spoilers:** Up to 4x10, but takes place during the season 4 premiere.

 **AN:** While I was watching 4x01, I kept expecting Callie to do something stupid like go after Marianna, and after watching 4x10 where she did do something stupid to go after Marianna, I decided to write this.

 **AN2:** My others stories will have an update this month. I know it's been years since I updated any, but I learnt from my mistakes, and this one is already almost fully written.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the characters I create.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

After sending the roll, Callie sat back, going over everything that happened that morning. A huge burden had been lifted off of her shoulders when she came clean to her Moms about what she and Brandon had done while at Idyllwild. She still felt the guilt of betraying their trust and her anxiety levels only rose up more with the current situation.

She was drawn back to reality by the blinking message on the computer asking if they were OK. Brandon replied that they were, and asked about the rest of their siblings and the situation. They got an « it'll be fine » answer which didn't ease her anxiety. Half a second later, the computer screen was blinking again, asking if anyone had Marianna in their class. One class replied that she didn't get into theirs, but assumed she got in an other.

Brandon felt a shiver down his spine, he knew that it meant that his little sister was out there all alone, and the look on his face told as much to Callie.

« We have to get her, she said she saw Nick this morning and he didn't seem right ! » Brandon grabbed her arm, trying to calm her down.

« We can't, we're on lockdown, we're safe here, and Marianna knows to hide if she can't get to a classroom. » He tried to convey to Callie that he had confidence in their sister to be safe but that wasn't enough for Callie.

She darted towards the door and tried to open it, but as she pushed the blackboard away, she heard the teacher hiss « stop ». That didn't stop her, but hearing her brother plead with him, she turned around and was met with the sight of a gun trained on her.

« Nobody's getting out, I can't let you open that door » he said, his voice trembling. Brandon, on the other side, moved to get his attention which he got, and Callie took that opportunity to get out while muttering an « I'm sorry » to her brother. She heard the bang before she felt the pain in her shoulder, but she kept going. She didn't look back as she heard the door close back down and set out to look for her sister.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Outside, as the shot rang, Stef threw down her radio, and tried to run towards the entrance but she was held back by a fellow officer, she heard Lena scream as she kept trying to go inside. She turned around to face the cop.

« I can't let you go in there half cocked, Foster ! »

She wanted to reply when Lena grabbed her by the arms and asked her not to go. A few minutes passed when a new group of students emerged from the school. Relief flashed on both their faces as they recognised Brandon among them, but fear crept out when they couldn't find Callie who was supposed to be with him. When he reached them, he went straight to their arms, they could see the fear and anguish painted on his face. Before they could ask, he breathed out.

« He shot at her, he shot at Callie ! »

Stef wanted to go to her, but Brandon was holding on for dear life.

« Where is she, is she with the paramedics ? » she asked, not knowing the full extent of the gravity of the situation Callie found herself in, but knowing the answer as the paramedics were standing behind them and not one team had moved. « What happened ? » She pressed on.

« She went after Marianna. » her son uttered.

« What ? » Lena exclaimed. « Why, why would she do that ?! » She urged Brandon.

« After reading that Marianna wasn't in a class, she tried to take off, I tried to hold her back, I tried to keep her from going but she was faster than me and got out of my grasp, and when she got out, the teacher shot her, or shot at her. » He replied, his voice trembling.

Stef wasn't sure she heard right. « The teacher shot her ?! » she inquired, bewildered.

« Yea, and then SWAT came in, and arrested him, but I don't know where Callie is » He added, tears spilling out.

Stef didn't know what to tell him or Lena to comfort them. The truth was that she didn't have any answer. She hugged her son tight as did Lena, then asked him to go join the rest of the kids and his brothers.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Callie, her blood rushing with adrenaline went to the girls bathroom, figuring it was a safe place. As she got near, she heard a voice that she recognised. It was Nick's.

« Come on, Marianna, I know you're hiding, I saw you leave the bathroom ! Come out so we can talk about how you hurt me when you were with Mat ! »

Callie approached slowly, she could see the entire hallway. She could make out Marianna's shape behind the pile of backpacks, trying to make herself as small as possible, on her left, and to her right, she could see Nick fast approaching with his arm held behind his back.

She decided in a split second to interfere and play dumb as she emerged from her hidden position.

« Hey Nick, what are you doing here, we gotta go, we're not safe here, there's a lockdown, we gotta go. » she whispered to him, moving in on him to make him back away from her sister, but he didn't bulge. Instead, he brought his arm from his backside and pointed a gun, a big gun, at her.

« Yes, Callie, you're right, you're not safe ! » Panic washed upon her face, her plan to play dumb was dumb, but she wasn't going to back away.

« I'm looking for Marianna, » he continued. « I need to talk to her, I was upset yesterday, and I did something stupid, they're going to send me away, I need to talk to her ! » he uttered, tears coming down on his face, changing his demeanor from menacing to upset and deranged. « You need to go away, I don't want to hurt you, or her, I just want to talk ! » he blurted out, clearly getting more and more upset by the second.

« Ok, Nick, I believe you, you don't want to hurt anyone, just put the gun down, we'll talk after, ok ? » Callie muttered, trying not to upset him more. « We can help you, we'll figure something out, I did something stupid too, more than once, and violence was never the answer, just please, put the gun down, ok ? »

From her peripheral vision, she could see Marianna moving, so she moved in front of him, so he wouldn't see her sister. Marianna understood what Callie was trying to do for her and relief flooded her, she wasn't alone anymore. She took the opportunity given by Callie to stand up and move behind her sister. Callie, now aware of Marianna trailing her, moved closer to the hallway she came from. Marianna didn't want to leave Callie behind, she felt her sister squeeze her hand in reassurance that she'd be fine. Callie continued to soothe Nick into dropping the gun, he wasn't paying attention to her movements, only her words. A movement drew his attention, and he saw Marianna hiding behind Callie. He heard Callie yelling to run to Marianna, and as she took off he screamed.

« Nooo ! » he whipped out his gun and aimed at the moving figure that was Marianna, but Callie was quicker and stepped in his line of sight as he fired the gun twice. Callie, high on adrenaline, kept yelling for Marianna to keep going, to keep running until she was safe. Her relief, knowing that Marianna was now safe was short lived as she started to feel the consequence of her actions. Her adrenaline levels decreased and she felt the immense pain of the gunshots to her stomach and chest. It hurt so much that she didn't even feel the pain in her left shoulder. She started having trouble breathing.

Nick was beside himself, muttering to himself,

« What did I do ? What did I do ? » and then turned to Callie, « what did YOU do ?! Why ?! »

Callie didn't have the strenght to reply as she struggled to breathe and to stay standing in front of him.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

As a new shot rang, Stef stood up but was brought back down by Lena, when a second one rang, she took off from her wife towards the school, ignoring Lena's pleas.

Relief flooded over Lena's face as she saw from afar her daughter run into her wife's arms, and Stef whisper comfort words into her ear as she hugged her tight and kissed her temple. Her daughter's face was frozen in shock and pain, and Lena wondered if she was hurt, seeing red in Marianna's hand.

As they got closer, Lena ran up to her daughter to hugh her like her life depended on it. And then, Marianna uttered three words that froze both Lena and Stef's blood.

« Callie's with Nick »

Lena's looked over at her wife and the look of pure fear mirrored the one she knew she had, and Stef took off, running to the school as once again, the sound of a gunshot reverberated in the school. Lena couldn't catch a hold of her as she had her arms around Marianna.

She led Marianna towards the medics to get her checked out, and as they ok'd her, her brothers came and joined them, each hugging Marianna, but Jesus kept his arm around his sisters after hugging her, keeping her close as their brothers hugged her too. They looked to their Mama to have news regarding Callie, but she was at a loss about what to tell them. Marianna replied with what she knew.

« She's with Nick, she saved me from him ! He found me in the bathroom, and I ran, he was getting closer, and that's when Callie put herself in between ! I don't know why she did that ! » she turned to her Mama. « Why would she do that ?! »

Then Jude responded.

« It's what she does, she protects those she loves, regardless of the consequences for her ! » he said angrily. He worried about his sister, and anger was how he expressed it.

« She saved me ! » Marianna repeated.

Before she could tell more of what had happened, they heard the call on the radio of the officer standing next to them.

« We need medics, ASAP, two gurneys, send the medics in, the gunman is down, site is secured. »

As Lena watched the two teams of paramedics go in, she hugged her children close and prayed that Callie was Ok. They all did.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

As her surroundings gradually became darker and darker, Callie eyed Nick carefully, as to not set him off again. She held her stomach and slowly, with her remaining strength, backed away from him. He saw her move and pleaded with her.

« Please, don't leave me alone. » He begged, with his gun trained on her.

She didn't have any choice but to stay. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her deliverance in the form of a SWAT team moving in on them. They filled the hallway from all sides. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Nick raised his gun, she heard the shot and felt herself crumble to the floor as SWAT moved in on them and she let the darkness envelop her.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

End of Chapter 1.

So whay did you think ? Should I continue this story ?

Reviews are always welcomed, and if I made any mistakes in the chapter, please do tell, so I can fix them and not make them again.

Cheers. See y'all next week, hopefully !


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Disregard

 **Rating:** T

 **Summary:** Different take on 4x01. Callie disregards her safety and goes to look for Marianna. AU, Nick did stay on school grounds.

 **Spoilers:** Up to 4x10, but takes place during the season 4 premiere.

 **AN:** Thank you so much for your interest and feedback, and all the subscribers, and all who favorited the story. More than 500 hits and 400+ visitors, 21 reviews, 14 Favorites and 26 subscribers. It's more than I have on any of my others stories (with 5 chapters) I am so immensely happy that you liked what I wrote! As a thank you, instead of publishing Sunday, I am updating tonight, Thursday.

 **AN2:** I am just going to say this: Prepare your tissues, and please, no flame.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the characters I create.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Stef had ran as fast as her legs would allow inside, fear creeping in her mind about what she was going to find. Brandon had told her Callie had been shot or shot at, he didn't see if the teacher had wounded her, but when Marianna had said that Callie stepped in front of bullets, she had prayed that was just a figure of speech and not the reality.

As she got closer to the girls' bathroom, she was met by more and more SWAT members, all sporting a look of defeat on their faces, as if they had lost someone. She continued to move forward, dread aching in her stomach, until she saw the bodies. Her heart stopped as the vision of Callie's seemingly lifeless body and ashen face registered in her brain. She kneeled next to her, her vision blurred by tears. A small sigh of relief escaped when she saw her chest slowly rise and fall.

"- Oh Callie," she let out, "please, baby, be OK, please open your eyes?" she begged of her daughter as she took her right hand in hers, feeling the faint pulse.

The SWAT leader put his hand on her shoulder attempting to bring her comfort.

"- We've called for the medics, they're gonna be here any moment now." He said, trying to convey hopefulness to the broken woman in front of him. "The medics are here!" He tried to pull on her shoulder to let the medics work on the girl, but she wouldn't bulge. She looked up at him and saw the paramedics get closer and backed away from her daughter.

The paramedics quickly assessed her, checked the bleedings, packed her wounds and bagged her before loading her on the gurney. The second pair arrived to check Nick. Stef didn't pay attention to them as she followed the paramedics out, staggering.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Lena was anxiously waiting, she had asked her kids to go back to the holding area after they all calmed a little down. She didn't know how they would ever be ok if Callie wasn't. She chased the thought out of her head. Callie was strong, she had survived so much, and she hoped and prayed that she would survive this too. She was getting restless when the first gurney appeared, followed by her wife. The look of utter distress on her face told her the bloody mess on the gurney was her daughter.

As they got closer, she ran to her wife. By reflex, she opened her arms and let Lena in. They ran awkwardly after the paramedics, clinging on to each other for dear life.

Callie was being loaded in the ambulance, and the paramedic asked who was coming with. Stef turned to Lena, removing her from her arms. Before she could say anything, Lena cut her.

"- You go." Her voice shaking. "I'll get the kids, and we'll catch up with you at the hospital." She hugged her before tugging her towards the ambulance. She watched her wife climb into the vehicle and felt tears coming down as the ambulance drove off, sirens blaring.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

The ride to the hospital was the longest ride for both of them. Stef was watching as the paramedic she hadn't bothered to ask the name worked on her daughter to get her alive and breathing to the hospital.

Lena was trying her best to keep herself from falling apart so that the rest of her kids wouldn't see how distressed she actually was so as to not worry them even more than they already were. She didn't know how Callie was. Neither Stef or the paramedic had said anything, she had just seen that Callie's left shoulder was packed, as well as the right side of her torso. She just hoped and prayed her daughter would make it to the hospital to get treated in time.

Stef, in the ambulance, felt the life go out of her as she watched the paramedic revive her daughter for the second time, the sound of her flat line piercing her ears, and the vision of her daughter's body being shocked over and over until they got a stable rhythm engrained in her brain.

When they finally pulled up in the ambulance bay, her rhythm was still stable. The paramedics unloaded her and the ER doctors took over while the paramedics exposed Callie's state.

"- Female, 17, GSWs to the upper left shoulder, stomach and chest, unresponsive at the scene, had to be revived twice, we gave her…" The rest of the words droned out for Stef as she got out of the ambulance and watched the doctors rush Callie in the ER.

She was led away from her daughter and as soon as she realised it, she tried to fight, but the nurse was stronger.

"- You have to let them work on her, you can't be in the way, they're doing everything they can to help her." He tried to soothe her. He then led her to the waiting area, promising an update.

She sat down and cried as everything came crashing down on her. Her Callie, her sweet, caring, brave Callie was in the ER fighting for her life and she couldn't do anything but wait. She looked down at her hands, smeared with her daughter's blood and cried harder.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Lena entered the hospital frantic, followed by her kids. She went straight to the nurse's station.

"- I'm looking for my daughter, Callie Adams Foster, she was brought in earlier, she was shot at school." She spoke, trying to remain as composed as she could.

The nurse checked the patient roll before replying.

"- Your daughter is still being treated in the ER, she came in with a stable heartbeat, that's all I can say. A doctor will come update you as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can wait in the waiting room." She said, trying to be as helpful as possible.

Stef was sat with her head in her hands, visibly shaking, the sight of which broke Lena's heart further. She recognised her wife's footsteps and looked up. She flung herself in Lena's arms, stayed there for a moment, before recomposing herself to face her other kids.

Marianna was holding Jude close, herself held by Jesus, and looked up at her Mom.

"- Is Callie going to be ok?

\- Sweets, I don't know." Stef replied taking her youngest daughter in her arms. "She's a fighter, that sister of yours, and she's still fighting!"

Jude stepped in his Mom's embrace as she let Marianna go.

"- Why was she with Nick, why did she leave?" His voice shook, barely audible.

"- I think she wanted to help Marianna, Bug." Brandon put his hand on Jude's shoulder.

"- She saw on the info system that Marianna was out there alone, and with the previous message about Nick, she knew something was wrong, I tried to hold her back." He said through his tears. "And then the sub pulled a gun on her and I tried to talk him down, she took that as an opportunity to leave the class and he shot at her, and then SWAT came in. I don't know really what happened after. We got out, and she was still inside." Lena tightened her grip on him as he choked out the last part. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect her." He sobbed, looking at Jude.

"- We have to have faith in your sister, she won't go down without a fight!" Lena tried to appease her children.

"- That's why she was out there?!" Marianna let out. "For me?!" She was taken aback by her sister's motivation. "I thought she had been locked out of a classroom, and was going to hide in the bathroom like me!" Tears flowed freely as she realized Callie had deliberately put herself in danger for her. "But she's gonna be ok? Right? She has to be ok?!" She looked at her moms, pleading with them to reassure her, but the look of uncertainty in Stef's eyes didn't calm her down.

Jude looked like he had checked out of this reality. Callie was the one constant in his life since the loss of their mother. She was the only person that had been there consistently for him since he was born. He wouldn't have made it this far without Callie.

Jesus was holding on to Marianna's hand like lifeline. Nick had been his best friend since coming back from Colorado, and he had come after his sisters. He sported a guilty look across his features. His older brother looked the same. Brandon, as well as Marianna, were a mess. Both feeling responsible for their sister's state.

Lena made them sit down as they waited for news on Callie. Stef had refused to sit down and instead was pacing back and forth before them. It seemed like an eternity since they had gotten to the hospital, but in reality, only a few minutes had gone by.

A young doctor stepped in the waiting area and asked for the family of Callie Adams Foster. Lena got up, Stef took her hand and they walked towards the doctor.

"- We're her family, we're her Moms." Lena stated. "How is she, how is she doing?" She asked.

"- Your daughter is stable, she sustained three bullet injuries to her upper left shoulder, abdomen and chest. The bullet to her shoulder shattered upon impact and we will need to go in and remove the fragments, luckily, no major arteries were touched, and with physical therapy, she should be able to regain full use of her left arm. She did, however, lose a lot of blood. The bullets to her chest and abdomen were through and through. The bullet to her abdomen nicked a kidney artery and bruised her right kidney, we will monitor it, we've given her coagulant factors so that the bruising resorbs itself, and put her on dialysis to help her kidney functions. The main concern is the bullet to her chest, which upon entering shattered a rib and went through her right lung. On the imaging, we found fragments of her rib embedded in her liver, which we will remove during surgery. We had to put in a chest tube so that her lung doesn't collapse and we intubated her to help her breathe. We've given her blood transfusions. She is being taken into surgery to repair her lung and liver, and as soon as she is out of surgery, the surgeon will come and talk to you." He breathed out before continuing. "I know this is a lot to take in, but your daughter is in good hands, she's come this far, and that's a good sign." He let out a small smile, trying to show optimism, but the women in front of him seemed to not hear his last words. He turned to walk away and heard a faint "thank you doctor" coming from them.

Stef turned to Lena, whose face had lost all color, put her arms around her in a hug.

"- Come on, let's go update the kids, they'll want to know." Stef whispered as she took a tentative step towards her children, but then, she felt Lena crumble in her arms and caught before her knees hit the floor.

"- Stef, I can't!" She sobbed in her wife's uniform. "What if she doesn't make it?

\- You can't think like that. She is strong, she'll pull through, you said it yourself, she's a fighter, you told our kids to have faith in Callie, and so should you." Stef stated, urging her wife to believe in their daughter. She had gotten to the hospital barely alive, and now she was stable. Stef had faith in her daughter, she was a survivor, she had survived the ambulance ride, not that she could tell her wife their daughter had been dead and had to be revived twice on the way. It would only hurt Lena more. So, instead, she just held her wife for a little bit longer.

She saw her kids scrambling to get to them as the scene in front of them led them to believe their sister had passed. She held her hand up towards them, signaling them they were ok, conveying through her stare that Mama just needed a minute. They sat back down, anxiously waiting for more information.

She gave Lena more time to compose herself, drawing comforting circles on her back as the sobs shook her. Instead of asking if she was ok, which she knew she wasn't, she asked if she was ready. Lena slowly nodded, and they made their way back to their kids.

"- Your sister was stable, but her injuries necessitate surgery." Stef stated, her voice even. "Surgeons are taking care of her right now, that's all we know for now." She didn't want to mention the extent of her daughter's injuries or how many vital organs were concerned. She hoped none of her kids would ask.

"- What are her injuries?" Jude inquired, wanting to know but afraid of the answer.

"- She has damage to her left shoulder, which is non-life threatening, and to her kidney, lung and liver, but everything is being taken care of by either surgeons or medication.

\- Will she need a transplant? Do we need to get tested?" Marianna asked. Stef put an arm around her shoulder.

"- No, hun, the doctor didn't say anything about that, which must mean that it's off the table.

\- What can we do?" Brandon inquired.

Lena grabbed a hold of his hand before replying.

"- Be there for her when she wakes up from surgery, give her space if she needs it, but for now, we can only wait. As long as she is still in surgery, there is nothing we can do but hope and have faith that Callie will pull through and will be back home soon."

Stef captured her wife's other hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"- Now, we wait." She let out as sat down drawing Lena to her, gesturing her kids to do the same.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

End of Chapter 2.

So what did you think? What's going to happen next? Is Callie going to be Ok? What happens to Nick now? Is he still alive?

Please do give me feedback!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Disregard

 **Rating:** T

 **Summary:** Different take on 4x01. Callie disregards her safety and goes to look for Marianna. AU, Nick did stay on school grounds.

 **Spoilers:** Up to 4x10, but takes place during the season 4 premiere.

 **AN:** Hi, thank you to the few of you who chose to leave me a review, it is very much appreciated. To the guest who asked about Nick, I wasn't going to write it, but the comment sparked my muse, and so, it will be included (later on, I just included an update on him in here).

 **AN2:** I get that subscribing is a form of feedback, like "hey I wanna know what happens next", but I am not a writer, and like it's written above, reviews do spark my writing. I don't know how many more chapters of this I have in store. This is the last one that was written down.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the characters I create.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

The kids had settled back down somewhat comfortably now that they had news about their sister. A movement caught Stef's eye, she recognized Stratos senior as she watched him walk across the waiting room to an adjacent room where a doctor and an officer were waiting for him. Anger flared in Stef, making her get up and follow.

The doctor closed the door behind Stratos after he entered, and then came back around to face him. He spoke, but Stef couldn't read his lips, then she saw him take the doctor's hand in his, and let out what seemed relief. As the doctor left the room, she saw the officer step in and speak to him, to tell him his son was under arrest, she assumed. She heard through the glass that he wanted to see his son, and she saw the officer reply negatively. She decided she saw enough and went back to Lena and the kids. She could feel Lena looking at her worriedly. She let out a tentative smile to appease her. In the corner, she caught a glimpse of Mike talking to their captain. She indicated to Lena she was going to them.

As she approached, they both stopped talking, and turned to her.

"Hey Foster, I am so sorry about your daughter. I hope she pulls through. Mike was telling me how she was doing so far. If you or Lena need anything, don't hesitate to ask, ok?" Roberts said, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you captain." Stef replied, tiredly. "Actually, can you tell me about Nick's state?"

"Stef, you know I can't actually tell you anything, that's part of an active investigation that you cannot be a part of."

"I know that, I just want to know that he's still alive."

"The kid's still alive, Stef, he'll pay." Mike cut in, venom in his voice.

"Thank you for telling me." Stef uttered, her voice monotonous.

"Stef, Callie will be fine, that kid of your is a fighter." Mike added, trying to instill confidence.

"Thank you both for your support, Lena and I appreciate it." Stef replied, her voice sounding like an automated machine. "Excuse me, I have to go back to Lena."

"Sure," Captain Roberts said, "we're here for you."

Stef thank them once more before returning to her wife.

She sat back down, set her head on Lena's shoulder. Lena put her arm around her shoulder.

After a few minutes, Stef sat back up, Lena reluctantly let her go and watched her pace in front of her. Then she stopped right in front of Lena.

"Our parents, we forgot to call them!" She uttered, franticly searching for her phone.

"Stef, calm down, I'll take care of it, just stay with the kids, I'll handle it." She commanded her wife, knowing she wouldn't leave the room until they had news about Callie. She had barely agreed to go to the restroom to wash her hands of the blood before the first update.

She looked over at her kids, trying to assess which one could help Stef and asked Jesus, the only one that seemed to be faring better than his siblings to keep an eye on her while she made calls.

She quietly exited the room, and prepared for one of the worst calls of her life. She decided to call Sharon first, knowing that after speaking to her parents, she would crumble.

She breathed in before selecting Sharon's number.

As the phone dialed the number, she brought the phone to her ears, breathing in deeply to gather herself.

The phone rang, she breathed out, another ring, she breathed in. Eventually, Sharon picked up.

"Hello?" She spoke. After the silence that answered her, she added, "Lena, darling, is everything alright?"

Lena finally found her voice again.

"Hi Sharon, I'm, I'm calling because something happened. Callie, she was hurt." She breathed out. "We're at the hospital waiting for more news. She's been taken for surgery. Stef is with the kids, and we, we think you should be here. Stef's gonna need you, and so will the kids and I." She let out.

"I'll be on the next flight out, and Lena? Callie will be fine, that kid is so resilient I doubt even a bullet could hold her down." After hearing only static, Sharon dreaded knowing more. "Lena?" She asked tentatively.

"There was a shooting at school, Callie was shot multiple times, the shooter was going after Marianna, and she put herself in between!" Lena replied, tears threatening to spill.

"I'm gonna be here soon." Sharon didn't know what else to say. "Will you send me the hospital info?"

"Yes." Lena stammered.

"I'll see you soon, ok?" Sharon said before shutting the call.

Lena closed her eyes and placed the phone in her left hand so that she could dial her parents' number with the right.

A lone tear fell as she waited for her dad to pick up.

"Daddy!" She sobbed into the phone.

"Lena? What's wrong?" Stuart said on the other end of the phone, clueless as to what was making his daughter that upset.

"There's been a shooting at school, Callie was hurt!" Lena stuttered through her tears. "She's in surgery right now, Stef is with the kids and we need you."

"Listen, we're gonna get her as soon as possible, we're in LA right now, we'll be here soon. Callie will be ok." Stuart said forcefully, trying to believe in own words. "We'll be here soon, ok?"

"Ok, daddy, thank you." Lena murmured into the phone before ending the call.

She looked at her phone and realized there were more people to call. She breathed in deeply, trying to recompose herself, and then dialed the next person.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Marianna inched closer to her Mom as Lena left the room. She tugged on Stef's arm, wrapping her arms around her left one as if it were a lifeline. Stef looked down at her daughter, and with her right hand, she stroked her daughter's face soothingly. She stayed like that for a few minutes. Marianna breathed in and then turned to face her Mom.

"I'm sorry, Mom." She whispered, almost inaudibly, but Stef heard it.

"What?" Stef turned to fully face her. "What are you talking about, Sweets?"

"Callie's hurt because of me, she's in surgery because of me!"

"No, no, no!" Stef cut her before she could say more. "What happened is not your fault, if you want to blame someone, blame Nick, he brought a gun to school, and shot her! Hell, you can even blame his dad for having a gun in the first place, what you cannot do is blame yourself!" She took her daughter's hands in hers. "Listen to me, I am so glad you are ok, if we had lost you, I would've been devastated, we all would have."

"But Nick was upset because he thought I had cheated on him!" At this point, Jesus had moved closer to his sister and was holding her.

"Love, even if you had, that in no way gave him the right to enter school with a gun and try to shoot you!" Stef interrupted her. "You hear me? Nothing you did made you deserve what happened." She nodded softly, tears running down on her face. Stef wiped them before continuing. "What your sister did, it was brave, it was stupid but brave, she protected you." She stopped before uttering the next words. "if," she stammered, "if we lose Callie, it won't be your fault." She said wiping a tear from her own face. "But it won't come to that, your sister is a tough cookie." She added, trying to reassure her daughter.

"Mom's right, you know?" Jude chimed in. "It's not your fault Callie does stupid things!" He said angrily.

Stef looked at him with wide eyes. "Jude!" But she couldn't berate him, for she knew he was right. She took her hands off of Marianna's and moved them to hug Jude. "Now, I don't agree with how she went about it, but your sister thought what she was doing was right." Stef sighed. "We will talk about that to her once she gets better." She nudged Jude to see if he had calmed down, he looked at her with tears brimming eyes.

"Is she really going to be better?" He asked in the tiniest voice.

"Oh my love, I believe she will." She let out. "And whatever happens, we will learn to deal with it, ok?" She asked him and he nodded slowly. She turned to her other kids and asked them the same. They nodded in return, aching to believe their mom's words.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

The clock on the wall indicated half past one pm. Stef and Lena had tried to send their kids home with Mike, but neither of them wanted to leave the hospital. Seeing their kids so upset at the thought of leaving, Stef hadn't pressed on. She looked at the time. They'd been waiting on news on Callie for three hours now. Just before noon, Lena's parents had arrived, anxiously looking around for their daughter and her family. They had welcomed the support and the help. After explaining most of the situation, they had all sat back down and went back to waiting. The waiting was excruciating for all of them, but they knew that as long as Callie was still in surgery, it meant that she was still alive. Looking back at the clock on the wall, she realised none of them had eaten anything since breakfast.

Stef went over to her in laws, and asked them if they could take the kids to the cafeteria and make them eat something. Stuart nodded and they headed towards the kids, as they reached Lena's level, Dana turned to Stef.

"Do you want me to bring you something?" Stef shook her head no and turned to her wife.

"Do you want to eat, Love?" Imitating her wife, she declined. Stef turned back to them. "We're fine, thank you, just get the kids to eat something, even if just a candy bar." They both nodded before making their way towards their grandkids. She could see their refusal at first, so she gestured at them, pleading with them to go with their grandparents. Brandon nodded at his mom, and led his siblings out.

As the kids left, Stef sat back down on the bench, taking Lena's hand in hers, and Lena placed her head back on Stef's shoulder. They sat there in silence, trying to comfort each other, knowing exactly what the other was feeling. They watched the time pass by, wondering if they were ever going to see Callie smile again, holding onto each other for support all the while trying to give the other strength.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

When Lena's parents came back with the kids, more than half an hour had gone by. They noticed the fresh tear tracks on the younger couple's face, but didn't say anything, they knew that nothing they'd say could comfort any of them right now. They had tried to console the kids the best they could and failed miserably for they knew that nothing short of Callie being actually ok would make them ok. They felt useless as they sat next to Rita.

It was nearing 3pm when a doctor wearing scrubs came in asking for them. Stef and Lena ran to her. She was much older than the first doctor they'd spoken to, Lena thought. She introduced herself.

"I am Dr Porter, I am the lead surgeon on your daughter Callie's case. Callie is out of surgery, it went mostly well. We've repaired her lung, removed the chest tube and saved her liver by removing the rib fragment. Her liver will regenerate." She breathed in. "She coded while on the table, but we were able to bring her back after about 3 minutes. We got a sinus rhythm and she has been stable ever since. We won't know if there will be consequences until she wakes up. As for her shoulder injury, the orthopedic surgeon was able to retrieve all the fragment, and she will regain all mobility in her arm. She's in recovery now, but will be moved to the ICU shortly. We will need to monitor the rest of her injuries closely and she will be staying in the hospital for the foreseeable future, but barring any complications, she should make a full recovery." The doctor smiled, for once, she was able to give good news.

"So, she's gonna be fine?" Lena stammered.

"If she wakes up, she will." The doctor still wanted to be cautious for she knew sometimes a patient waking up was up to more than just the medicine.

"But, she's gonna wake up, right" Stef pressed.

"There's a very good chance she will, I just wanted you to be aware that there's a slim possibility she might not." Dr Porter clarified.

"Thank you doctor!" Both moms exclaimed, relieved.

"I will get someone to fetch you when you can visit."

They thanked her one more time and as she exited the waiting room, the kids ran up to their moms.

"Callie's gonna be ok!" Lena breathed out, finally feeling like everything was going to turn out fine.

They all breathed a sigh of relief and hugged each other, sporting smiles and tears of joy on their faces.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

They waited impatiently for someone to take them to their daughter. Roughly 25 minutes of waiting later, a nurse came and asked for them. She explained that since Callie was in the ICU, it was immediate family only and only two persons at the same time. They turned to Dana and Stuart and asked them to watch over the rest of the kids while they went to see Callie. They both knew each of their kids also wanted to see her, but they wanted to see her first so they'd be able to prepare them for what awaited them.

The nurse led them to the upper floor where the ICU was. As she stepped to Callie's room, she stopped.

"Callie has a tube down her throat to help her breathe, she has multiple IV, she is on a blood transfusion, antibiotics, and dialysis. She has probes monitoring her heart activity as well as probes monitoring her brain activity. Her left arm is bandaged to her torso so that she can't move it, even involuntarily." The nurse paused and looked at them sympathetically. "I know it's hard to see your kid in that state, I just wanted to warn you."

Stef was taken aback briefly. With all the relief with knowing Callie would be ok, she had forgotten she had a long road ahead of her and was nowhere near fine now. She remembered her own recovery and how hurt she was by just one bullet. She took Lena's hand in hers and entered the room. In spite of the nurse's warning, they couldn't help the gasp that escaped their lips as they took in the sight of their daughter on a hospital bed, unmoving.

They approached the bed, sat on the chair at the right side of the bed. Stef leaned in, put her hand on her shoulder, and kissed her forehead.

"We're here, Love," she whispered into her ear, "we're right here, please come back to us." She repressed a sob as she sat back down, and let Lena sit on her leg.

Lena put her other hand in Callie's and pressed it slightly so she'd know she wasn't alone.

"We love you, Callie, we love you so much, just come back to us. Everybody's downstairs waiting to see you well." A sob escaped and Stef pulled her wife closer to her, embracing her, resting her head in the crook of her neck.

"She's gonna be fine, Love, she's gonna be fine."

Lena calmed down as she listened to Callie's steady heartbeat on the monitor.

They stayed like that for what seemed hours, but in reality, time had barely moved. It was around half past 4 when Stef spoke.

"Do you think we should let the kids see her like that?"

"I think they want to see her, to see for themselves that she's still here, and if we don't let them, they'll think something is wrong." Lena looked up at her wife.

"You have a point there. Maybe just let them in one by one? So at least one of us can stay with Callie?"

"I think we should let Jude see her first, he's been a mess." Before Stef could reply anything, Lena added, "you stay, I'll go get him."

Lena squeezed her hand as she stood up and left the room. As hard as it was for her, she knew her wife was taking it harder. It was her job to protect people, a job she was trained for, and knowing their daughter had put herself in harm's way to protect her sister as if her life didn't matter just about broke Stef's heart further. Lena had seen how they'd gotten so much closer, and so much faster than she and Callie. She had tried, time and time again, to show Callie she no longer needed to act as a protector, that she could be just a kid and enjoy life without having to care too much of others.

She was still lost in her thoughts when she reached her kids. The blank stare on her face made them fear something had happened.

"Mama, is Callie ok?" Jesus asked, being the only one able to voice what they were thinking.

This broke Lena out of her trance as she took Jesus' hand in hers.

"She's stable and out of surgery, she's still unconscious but if you want to visit her, I'll take you."

"I want to see her!" They all replied at the same time.

"Ok, but there can be only two in with her, and Mom and I will take turns to stay, so I can take one, and come back for to take another." Lena said.

"You should take Jude." Marianna spoke, mindful of her little brother's emotional state of mind. The rest of the kids agreed.

Jude acquiesced and took Lena's hand as she turned to her parents, silently thanking them for being here and taking care of her kids and noticed Sharon standing with them. By the way she was holding herself, she knew they had filled her in on what happened. Sharon nodded at her as she guided Jude toward the elevator. She explained Callie's injuries and current state to lessen the shock.

As they entered the room, Stef got up and extended her arms towards Jude inviting her youngest son into a hug.

He approached Callie's bed slowly, still wrapped in Stef's embrace, took her hand in his and felt for himself that she was still alive. He turned to his Mom.

"When will she wake up?" He asked, anguish written all over his face.

"I don't know, Sweets, it could be a few hours or it could be a few days. Her body needs to rest in order to heal.

"Can I stay with her, just me?"

"Sure, Baby, we'll be right outside." Stef replied, stroking his head and kissing his temple, before joining Lena outside.

This time, Stef stepped into Lena's inviting arms. Lena seemed to know her wife needed it. Then Stef broke down, sobbing into Lena's shirt. Lena guided them out of the ICU towards a supply closet to give them privacy. Stef took a step back from Lena and started talking.

"I thought she was dead!" She let out, blubbering. "When I got to her, she was so bloody and unmoving, I thought she was dead! And then in the ambulance, she was dead! She died! They had to bring her back! Twice! There was no heartbeat!" She hiccupped.

Tears ran freely on Stef's face as she came to terms with the events of the morning. Lena had felt the same, only with more uncertainty, she hadn't seen Callie's state up close, she had known it was bad from the look on her wife's face, but not to what extent. Hearing her wife recount what she felt then broke her heart. She gathered Stef in her arms, rubbing soothingly her back, whispering in her ear.

"She's gonna be fine, she's going to make it through, and then it'll only be a bad memory. You told me to have faith she's going to be ok, we're all going to be ok." She added, bringing her wife's face close to hers, kissing away the tears.

They stayed forehead to forehead a while longer before Lena spoke again.

"You feel better?"

"I don't know, I mean, I don't feel worse." Stef cracked, her voice hoarse.

"You ok to go back?" She asked softly and Stef nodded.

They exited the room and walked back to Callie's ICU room and watched from the doorway as Jude whispered to Callie.

Lena walked in, put her hands on his shoulder.

"She's going to be fine, bubba, it may take a while, but she is going to be ok, and this will be a distant memory."

He looked up at her, his eyes brimming with tears and nodded.

"Is it ok if we let the rest of your siblings see her?" Lena questioned and Jude nodded again. "Alright, go to Mom, she'll bring you down, ok?" Jude nodded once more before joining Stef outside.

Lena turned back to Callie, placed her hand over hers.

"You have to be ok, Callie." She leaned in, much like her wife had done earlier, and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "You have to be ok, come back to us."

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

End of Chapter 3.

So, is Callie really going to be ok, or is something going to happen, while she's in the ICU?

Also, I have no more material written down for future chapters, so bear with me.

It's well past 1 am here, I am knackered, got work in the morning, please do tell me what you think of it with feedback by way of reviews! (so that I didn't deprive myself of sleep over nothing ;))

I didn't read over, so if you do find something, please tell so that I fix it quickly. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Hi, thank you to the few of you who left me feedback, it is very much appreciated (means the world to me, also my only incentive to write). I loved reading your comments! I apologize in advance for the medical stuff, I have no background in that kind of stuff, so I'm just winging it based on Grey's and House, I tried to research stuff, but it was like Chinese for me.

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the characters I create.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

After each one of their children got their time with Callie, Stef asked the grandparents if they could take them home. After their initial refusal, Sharon and Dana persuaded the kids to leave the hospital, and seeing the stress on their Mom's face, they agreed. Mike had gone home to pick up AJ and later joined them.

Once Stef knew her kids were headed home with their grandparents, she went back to the ICU wing, to Lena. She updated her wife on their other kids as they waited for Callie to get better.

Time slowly went by. They were startled when, almost an hour later, a doctor entered the room, followed by a nurse, and introduced herself as one of the surgeons during Callie's surgery. She explained why she was here.

"We need to check Callie's breathing," she said checking the chart. She looked up at Stef, still in her uniform. "It says she wasn't conscious at the scene, and she hasn't come to yet." She stated, seeing the worry in the mothers' eyes, before quickly adding, "it is not uncommon for gunshot wounds victims to not wake up right after surgery. It'll only become worrisome if she's not awake after 48 hours."

Lena gasped.

"I know it is hard to take in, but your daughter is in good hands, and her odds are good. I am going to ask you to wait outside while we extubate," the doctor added. Stef opened her mouth to protest, but the doctor was quicker. "It's for the best of everyone involved, as much you as your daughter."

Stef wanted to argue, but Lena tugged her hand and lead her outside. The nurse closed the blinds of the room, and suddenly, they couldn't see anything anymore. They waited outside for duration of the procedure. When the doctor came out, wearing a forlorn look on her face, Stef started to get agitated. She peaked inside the room, and saw that her daughter was still hooked up to a respirator.

"Callie didn't respond well to the breathing test, so we had no choice but to leave her on assisted breathing." She paused, letting the moms take the information in. "We're going to take her up to imaging, to assess her respiratory system, and we'll see from there." She finished turning back to the door, where Callie was being wheeled out.

"I don't understand, you said the longer she stays on the ventilator the less chances there are of her breathing on her own again." Stef said, holding on to Lena's hand for strength. "That's what you said, right? So what does that mean now? Will she ever breathe on her own again?!"

"She's only been on a ventilator for less than 12 hours, her chances of breathing on her own are still very good. Sometimes, it happens that the first attempt at extubating is not successful. That's why we're going to image. Once we get a clearer picture, we'll know, and act accordingly." She replied, trying to calm the upset mother in front of her.

Lena put her hand on Stef's shoulder, "Thank you doctor."

As Stef tried, once again to protest, they were led to the waiting area of the ICU.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

The ride back from the hospital was silent. Stuart was driving Lena's car, with Dana, Jude and Brandon, and Sharon was driving the twins. All stared out the windows, thinking about the events that transpired earlier. They didn't even realised they were home when Stuart pulled in, followed by Sharon. They were brought back to reality by the sounds of car doors opening and shutting as the drivers exited each car.

The grandparents eventually led the kids home, and noticed the tension between Marianna and Jude, and how Jesus stuck close to his twin. They ultimately decided the kids needed to be fed and to rest, before talking. They didn't want to risk upsetting them more than they already were, but Sharon had other ideas in mind.

As Stuart and Dana prepared food, Sharon took Jude aside to talk.

"How are you doing kiddo, really?" She asked pointedly. Jude wanted to give a basic "I'm ok" but the look on Sharon face told him she wouldn't buy that.

"I'm afraid. Callie's always been there for me, she always put me first, and it's unfair what's happening, she's only just started to be carefree again. I am afraid she'll never be ok again." He whispered, tears shining in his eyes. "And I'm mad, I'm mad at her for what she did, and I miss her, and I want her to come home."

Sharon gathered the boy in her arms, whispering soothing words in his ear, before sending him to eat once he calmed down. She took a few minutes to collect her thoughts, neither grandparents could afford to fall apart now, their respective daughters and their grandchildren needed them. So she pushed back any upsetting thoughts away before joining the rest of her family. One look from Dana, and she knew she was thinking the same thing.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Stef and Lena had just sat down in the waiting room when they saw Robert marching in. Stef got up and intercepted him, before leading him where Lena was still sat.

"I took the earliest flight possible, how, how is she?" He stuttered.

Stef cast a glance at her wife, looking upset. So Lena answered.

"She's still alive, she came out of surgery, and barring any complications, she is expected to make a full recovery."

"Where is she now, can I see her?" Robert asked, unwilling to believe until he saw with his own eyes.

"She, um, she was taken up to imaging, to figure out why she's not breathing on her own." Stef uttered.

"What?! She's not breathing?"

"She is breathing, but with the help of a machine." Lena cut him. "The doctor said it's not worrisome that she still needs help to breathe yet."

Robert ran his hand through his hair. "When, when will we worry?" He stuttered.

"We don't know, once they know more, we will too." Stef replied, putting her hand on Robert's shoulder, sharing the pain of the uncertainty of Callie's fate.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

About 45 minutes of pacing, the doctor treating Callie approached them. She was holding Callie's chart, and didn't look worried, Stef noticed.

"We found a small hematoma on Callie's diaphragm. When it is resorbed, we will try again weaning her off. We also imaged her bruised kidney to see if it was healing well, and I am glad to report the bruising is fading away." She looked at the parents, and assumed correctly the worried looking man was the father. "Those are very good news. Callie's improving."

Stef shook the doctor's hands. "Thank you, doctor!"

Robert nodded, and breathed out of relief.

"Can we go see her now?" Lena asked, anxious to get back to her daughter.

"Yes, you can, she was brought back in her room a few minutes ago." She spoke before taking her leave.

Robert followed the Moms out to Callie's room.

Not having been prepared, Robert was shocked to see the state of his daughter, and tears pooled in his eyes as he approached the bed slowly.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

Callie was in a place where time and space didn't seem to exist. She was floating around, and watching scenes involving her and her family unfold. She felt the ache in her heart as she watched Stef berate her for sleeping with Brandon, and the look of disappointment on both of her moms' faces. She saw herself reading the comments on Fost and Found. It was weighing her down. Dragging her away from the warmth.

Then she heard a soft voice speaking to her.

"We're here, Love. We're right here, please come back to us." The voice was so soothing and familiar, yet so far away.

Then she heard another voice, also familiar and soothing, but distorted.

"We love you, Callie, we love you so much, just come back to us. Everybody's downstairs waiting to see you well."

She recognised her moms' voices, and felt panic as she could not respond. Then she re-lived through what happened with Nick, except that she felt all of the pain. She wanted to yell, but no sound came out of her throat.

A new voice spoke. She heard the sobs.

"Callie, please, Callie, I am lost without you."

"Jude?" She heard her voice.

Jude faded away. Then it was Marianna and Jesus.

"You need to wake up Callie, you can't give up on us, you need to come back! I need my sister back now more than ever! You saved me! You have to be ok!"

"They said you're going to be fine, but Callie, let me tell you, you don't look so fine now. Do you remember what you told me after my accident? When I wasn't walking yet? You were my cheerleader! I honestly don't think I would've recovered that fast had it not been for you! When you wake up, I'll be your cheerleader!"

And then the voice she didn't really want to hear.

"I should've kept you from leaving, I am supposed to be the big brother and to protect you, but I failed you and I have been failing you. I am sorry I was so selfish, I should've never pursued you in the first place."

Suddenly, all the voices disappeared and she felt pressure, then pain, in her chest, trying to breathe, gasping for air. Abruptly, the sensations disappeared as fast as they appeared.

She tried to move up towards the light and warmth, but she seemed to be stuck, and the dark and cold engulfed her.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

The monitors hooked to Callie started going off. And Stef, panicked, rushed outside to call for help.

A team of nurses and doctors hurried inside, while an orderly led Stef, Lena and Robert out the door where they watched, powerless, Callie flatline and doctors shock her to revive her, then do chest compressions over and over.

Lena felt Stef go limp beside her.

Robert tried to tear his stare away from it, but couldn't.

They stood there as Callie was rushed into surgery once again. Knowing nothing about the situation, or why their daughter's heart had stopped.

.oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo. .oO° °Oo.

 _End of Chapter 4._

Now, what did you think of this chapter? I am looking forward to your feedback! Keep in mind that the rest is not written, so any input is really helpful.

I know it was short, but a lot happened.

There will be later on Callie and Marianna/Jesus/Jude. Well, if Callie does make it, that is. Do you think she is going to? Doesn't really seem that way right now!


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